Henry Mitchell, Henry Mitchell on Gardening

Titles and pagination from the Houghton Mifflin edition (1999).

HENRY MITCHELL ON GARDENING

Introduction by Allen Lacy       ix

JANUARY

When a Bloom Looms Large in Memory       3
In Winter's Adversity, the Hardy Gardener Flourishes       5
The Entanglements of Sweet Peas       6
By the Persian Example       9
Weather Soon Withers a Gardener's Innocence       11
A Fig for All Seasons       13

Roses Are Red, but Violets Are Bloomin' Lovely       19
Sowing Seeds of Exotic Abandon       21
Daffodil Delight      24
Protect Us from Plants       27
Bright Spots in the Shade       30
Good Sense Has Little to Do with Gardening       32
That Growing Sense of Frustration       34
Winter Has Sprung      36

Weathering Winter's Chill       43
Correcting the Mistakes of Mother Nature       45
There Is Much to Be Done, We Must Get to It       47
The Growing Anticipation of Spring       50
Coming Attractions       52
Support for the Red, Round, and Ripe       54
Right at the Start       58

Spring Is the Time of a Thousand Tasks       63
Dalliances with the Dahlia       65
Facing Up to the Cold Facts       68
Give Me Strength - It's Spring      69
Thomas Jefferson, an Optimistic Gardener       71
Gardening Pains and Pleasures       75
Living to Grow Another Day      76
Budding Romance       78
Not Everyone Wants to Go Whole Hog into Gardening       82

The Perfect Moment       87
The Cicadas, Bringing Their Sweet Symphony      89
Stopping to Smell the Rugosas       92
The Gardener's Life Is Full of Woe       94
The British Deal with Downpours       96
After the Rain, a Deluge of Tasks       98
Brave Spikes of Flowers       101
The Best-Laid Plants       103
Where Iris Is, I'm Smiling       105
Rosy Outlook       108

The Ivy League       113
Fare of the Dog       115
How Does Your Garden Grow? Any Way You Choose       118
The Computer as Gardener's Friend       121
The Hard Way, Firmly Planted       122
Contemplating Small Illusions       124
Heeding the Garden's Call of the Wild       127
Working the Bugs Out       129
A Little Work, a Lot of Glory       130

Gardening Is a Long Road       135
Sunflowers and Memories       138
Stalks and Bonds       140
Plants That Make Their Own Elbow Room       142
Every Garden Needs a Weed Patch       144
Surrendering to the Ceiling Fan       145
Keeping Watch on the Water Lilies       148

A Gardener's Weather Wonderland       155
The Wings of August       157
Things Are Doing Better Than Expected       160
The Topic Is Tropicals       162
Pleasures of Plants by the Pool       164
Awaiting the Last Blaze of Summer       166

Bulb Essentials       171
The Beauty of Vines and Weeds       173
Trailing Away from Summer       176
Of Mice and Specimens       178
Houseplants and Other Migrants       181
A Life's Garden, in Full Sum       183
Friends at Season's End       186
Arches of Triumph       188
One with Staying Power       190

Autumn Tasks and Master Plans       195
Loving Blooms: Better Late Than Never       198
The Bloom from Buried Bulbs       200
A Garden of Choice       202
The Fifty-Year Itch       205
Weathering the Winter       207

Support Groups on High       213
The Outer Limits of Inner Space       215
The Cold, Hard Facts of Autumn Planting       216
The Vices and Virtues of Climbers       217
Be It Blotch or Brilliance . . .       219
When Perfect Isn't Good Enough       221
Among the Berry Best of Bushes       223

The Budding Holly Story       229
The Latest Dirt on the Garden's Doings       232
The Beauty of Natural Selection       233
The Imperfect Gardener       235
Potted Perspicacity       239
In Gardening, Timing Is the Key       241